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PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 9:13 pm 
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I've seen in this forum that you can put lots of different stuff in a compost pile. I'm not entirely clear on what should not be used, I'm thinking mainly of food waste. I have read that you should not add meat, oil, or fried foods because they attract critters or go rancid. Is everything else fair game? What about processed foods, pasta, salad with dressing on it, peanut butter, ...

I was glad to read that urine is a good compost additive. Now I can save myself the time of taking off my shoes to go in the house and also accomplish something at the same time. Cool. 8)


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:05 am 
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I always like to say that the meats are an advanced topic in composting. If you are just starting out and haven't gotten to the point of getting a hot pile yet, then stay away from the meats. But if you can reliably generate a hot pile in a few days, then you're probably ready to start composting fats, meats, and even small dead animals like possums and rodents. In a hot pile these feedstuffs will decompose in less than a week including bones, teeth, hair, and everything. You MUST bury these feedstuffs and not just lay them on the pile. Bury them in the hot part and cover them with at least 8 inches of loose material. Any heat above 120 degrees F will immediately start to cook the meat which stops many of the smelly bacterial processes. The 8 inches of compost on top will filter out any smells so that even a dog looking for the item you just buried will not be able to smell it. Deeper is better.

When you get really big, like GardenVille in the San Antonio area, you can compost road kill deer, cattle, and horses.

Other than that, keep the plastics and metals out of the pile. All those things you mentioned are great for composting.

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 Post subject: compost--coffee grounds
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2004 11:23 am 
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I have been bringing from office LOTS of coffee grounds; now have wheel barrel full; any downside/adverse affect (due to acidity, etc) of putting in compost pile?

Also, how generously or sparingly can these grounds be put directly into garden and flower beds?


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 10:11 am 
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ziggy wrote:
I've seen in this forum that you can put lots of different stuff in a compost pile. I'm not entirely clear on what should not be used, I'm thinking mainly of food waste. I have read that you should not add meat, oil, or fried foods because they attract critters or go rancid. Is everything else fair game? What about processed foods, pasta, salad with dressing on it, peanut butter, ...

I was glad to read that urine is a good compost additive. Now I can save myself the time of taking off my shoes to go in the house and also accomplish something at the same time. Cool. 8)


While I do not wholely agree with the paranioa regarding "Humanure". It is currently highly regulated for use in food production for human consumption. So..shhhhhhhh.... :wink:


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:20 pm 
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Coffee grounds should not be wasted in compost. They are ready to apply directly to the soil at a rate of 10-20 pounds (dry) per 1,000 square feet. They are a great source of protein to the soil microbes. The acidity has been boiled out of them and they are neutral in pH.

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 Post subject: coffee grounds
PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 12:53 pm 
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Thanks for the reply.


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PostPosted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 10:49 pm 
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I had a chance to snag as many bags of leaves as I wanted at work today. I didn't take it because there was grass clippings mixed in and seeing that it was Tru-green Land Care collecting the stuff I assumed there would be chemicals involved. Was I being paranoid or would this be ok for a compost pile?. Would the microbes kill the chemicals or would the chemicals kill the microbes?


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